Programming for the next 8 weeks
Our next cycle will be one focus around improving your proficiency in the Olympic lifts. These Oly specific days will be Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.On these days you can expect 2 to 3 Oly specific lifts and either no conditioning or something really short. the focus of the days will be as follows:
Monday – Snatch
Thursday – Clean & Jerk
Saturday – Heavy Combined (Triple, Double, Single)

Basecamp
I want to make sure we are providing everyone with proper programming to meet you specific goals and needs. For this reason, at 6am on Mondays and Thursdays, and 9am on Saturdays there will be Basecamp programming offered during this times. Just a reminder, our Basecamp program is for those athletes who are not focused on isolated strength work, nor do you want to focus on the Olympic lifts. There is no whiteboard in these classes. The goal is simply to focus on continuing a very baseline level of fitness and strength for you.

Please make sure you are signing into the class you would like to attend via Wodify. My hope is that as this class grows, we will add more sessions. We are currently offering an opportunity for people to attend these classes only. So if you know people who are looking to start up but are not sure if they want the full immersion let us know, and we will give you more information.

In House Open Challenge
After much anticipation, I wanted to announce the winners of the In House Open Competition. The team with the lowest score (adding up place finishes for the best 8 for each workout) is Team 3 – congrats you all won a pair of socks. Most importantly, Audra Murphy was the winner of the FREE month of membership.

ATHLETE NOTES
Congrats are in order to Andy Schurr for completing his first competition this weekend at CrossFit Penn’s Landing for their Festivus event. Andy even PR’ed his deadlift. Awesome job!

I wanted to say how happy and proud I am of so many of you and what you have accomplished over the last 10 weeks! This includes, but is not limited to, a shit ton of new records for almost everyone during the CrossFit Total and such amazing perseverance. Every athlete set a record for at least one of the three lifts. If I had to give some feedback for what I saw, and I know this is echoed by Coach Brendan, make sure you have short term memory when moving from one exercise to the next or workout to workout. Don’t let those travel with you when completing multiple tasks in a training session. For those of you who missed this past Saturday, we will have a make up session this Saturday @ 9:00 am, which is your arrival time for a 9:30 CF Total start time.

The same can be said about the Open. I very happy that people set high expectations for themselves. On the one hand I believe that if you don’t shoot for the moon, you certainly won’t get there. On the other hand, you have to recognize what your aim is, not your target. When you aim for something, you keep heading in that direction, and everything you do keeps you moving in that direction and you don;t get too caught up in isolated goals. I for example aim at thirteen minutes in 14.5, but came up short. My goal now is to work on those things that will drive my strength and conditioning towards hitting that mark. It’s not over when I get there. I may modify my aim but I am going to keep going beyond sub thirteen minutes in a workout like 14.5 (if I do 14.5 again – that shit sucked!!!). So in closing, remember to celebrate the Open, celebrate your accomplishments, use your lessons in your short comings and don’t let your aim weaken. Let those things that disappointed you make your aim stronger.

So where do we go from here…? This week and next week we will be de-loading following the open and total. So this means you will see lower percentages of effort while maintaining intensity in conditioning pieces. You will see some longer and interval based conditioning workouts; for all you metcon junkies, you’re welcome. Enjoy it while you can. After that, starting in two week s will be doing a 6 week Olympic lifting cycle, where the main lifts will take place on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. On those days you will see Oly driven lifts and aux lifts. For those of you whose focus is not those lifts, nor are you excited about isolated lifts, I encourage you to try our Basecamp (BC) program. BC is designed for those athletes who are not driven but improving strength but rather enjoy basic functional strength and more conditioning. BC is included in both of our membership options and there are limited times for those classes. Right now we offer them on Tuesdays and Thursdays @ 6am. In two weeks, they will switch to Mondays and Thursdays and look to add a pm time in addition to the AM times. Please stay tuned to Wodify for those updates.

Many of you may have noticed that we started carrying Zukay in the gym. I have been taking it for some time now and I love it. I asked the guys from Zukay to give me a blog about their product for you guys so you could learn more about it. We are constantly striving to help better our communities health and wellness and this product is certain in the healthy direction.

“Micah recently asked to do a post about our Zukay Kvass beverages, which are now in the box. And while I’m not much of an author, I am a local CrossFitter (not an especially impressive one) and do know a thing or two about making insanely healthy and helpful beverages (much more impressive).

We call our kvass beverages “The World’s Healthiest Beverage”, and while pure, clean water may have something to say about that, we’re pretty sure we’re on to something here. Basically, we’ve reached back hundreds and thousands of years and used the ancient art of fermentation to preserve raw, organic vegetables, and then we juice them. That’s it – no additives, no sugar at all, no ingredients where you say “what’s that?”. Our ingredients are things like beets, kale, chard, ginger, turmeric, spinach, etc, etc. And that’s it. Plus, we make them all locally up near Quakertown, and use as many local ingredients as possible.

Why is fermentation so awesome? Well, it does a few things to the ingredients (and therefore the resultant beverage) that nothing else does, with benefits like:

RAW NUTRITION: There’s no heating involved, so all the nutrients are intact and even more “bioavailable” for your body. It’s a nutritional win-win.

PROBIOTICS: The fermentation is done by lactobacilli, which are awesome probiotics for your digestive system, which is the key to your health.

NO SUGAR: The fermentation of the vegetables is achieved by the lactobacilli eating the sugars and starches in the vegetables and turning them into lactic acid – so even the natural sugars are gone. While you may need some carbs depending on your level of activity, it’s best not to get them through your drinks – and our kvass is perfect for that.

If you’re reading this, I’m assuming you’re a [athlete], and maximizing your [workouts] and recovering from your [workouts] is of utmost importance to you. Of course it is – you wouldn’t be doing CrossFit otherwise. So, on top of what I’ve listed above, here’s some specific benefits to our products that will be of interest to you:

BEET and BEET GINGER KVASS: This is probably the product you want to use more than any other. On top of many other benefits, beets are a natural vasodilator, which means they expand your arteries naturally. This expansion increases your bloodflow, which increases your oxygen intake, which increases your stamina – up to 16%! Who doesn’t want to achieve 16% more just through drinking beets? And to do this, we use beets – not some beet extract, not something derived from beets. We use beets.

How do you get this effect? Drink ½ to 1 bottle 1 hour before the start of your WOD.

GOLDEN TURMERIC KVASS: We call this our “POST-WOD” drink, mainly because it has a trio of some of the best anti-inflammatories found in nature – ginger, turmeric, and hot peppers. Ginger is well known as an aid for arthritis, the health benefits of turmeric are legendary and numerous, and capsaicin – the “heat” in the peppers – has many health benefits as well. Here’s some nice links if you want to find out some more:

We highly suggest this drink a good 30 minutes to an hour AFTER your WOD, especially the tougher ones. Drink up after you feel rehydrated – this drink is a bit spicy so it’s best to drink after you don’t feel the need to chug any more.

SUPER GREEN AND GREEN GINGER BREW KVASSES: We call these our “GREEN NUTRITION” drinks, for obvious reasons. These drinks are chock full of spinach, chard, kale, spirulina, and ginger (plus a few other delicious greens!), so they’re perfect for rounding out your paleo diet with a full compliment of some of nature’s most nutrient dense dark leafy greens.

These aren’t “immediately functional” drinks – but it’s got so much good in there for you. We here at Zukay generally drink ½ -1 bottle of one of the two every day just as a general health booster, quite often with breakfast or lunch. And who doesn’t need a super healthy, probiotic, no sugar health booster?

Enjoy our locally made, totally awesome and helpful beverages on your way to more success at Crossfit 215!”

We have a big weekend coming up. The CrossFit Total is finally here and the closing ceremonies of the the CrossFit Open. I know it’s a lot going on for everyone but we would really love to see all of you here.

*NOTE: Please keep in mind some subject to change due to the release of 14.5 and whatever….

Friday
For this final week of the open, there will be a 5pm and 6pm class, as per our normal schedule, but the Open will NOT be scheduled this day Those of you doing the total should be resting Friday, and for those of you not doing the total, there will be a similar type workout on Friday, NOT the CF Open workout. There will also be a recovery workout for those of you

Saturday – CF Total
All athletes should be budgeting 2 hours for the total. 30 minutes of warm up and 90 minutes of lifting. Please arrive early enough to allow 30 minutes of warm up time before your scheduled start time (aka the time you register for on Wodify. Registration is currently live for this and we will be adding times as it fills up. Right now there are four time slots, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30 and 11:00. Again, please remember to get here early enough to warm up. The deadlift and press will take place in the main room and the back squat will in the annex. Please email me if you have any questions.

Register NOW!!!

Sunday – Closing ceremonies
At 12pm we will running the open workout for all of you that did the total Saturday. Please make sure yo sign up on Wodify. Following the open we will be heading out for celebratory adult beverages so come one come all to cheer on your fellow athletes and lets go celebrate the weekend’s achievements afterwards.

When I first sat down to plan out the eight week cycle leading up to the CrossFit Total, I was well aware that it would overlap the Open. Looking back at the last three years of the Open, nothing has come out that would prevent us from doing something heavy this Saturday. And if you look at all the workouts, nothing would have paired up horribly with the Total the day after… until 14.3. I cannot responsibly allow anyone to do both in the same weekend.

When the Open was approaching we all made a big push to get people to sign up and insisted on the importance of challenging yourself to go after higher goals and standards. So far I could not be happier or prouder of your determination, resilience and relentlessness. With that in mind I do not want a single person to stop that now. For this reason I have decided to move the CrossFit Total back two weeks to make way for 14.3 and allow plenty of time to fully recover from it. Anyone whose schedule does not allow them to make it on Saturday, March 29th and who would like to still do the Total, please contact me and we can make it up some other time.

So here goes, tomorrow’s programming is 14.3!

As far as the weekend goes, there are a few changes in the schedule. First off, due to the HEAVY nature of this workout, NO ONE will be allowed to do this workout more than once. You have two options to do this workout: the first is tomorrow evening in place of regularly scheduled classes. To make plenty of room for warming up and multiple heats there will be two classes Friday night, 5:00pm and 6:30 pm. Please try make some time to attend the 6:30 pm if you can and hang out with us after, you all will deserve it after this one. I know this is short notice so If you can’t get there by 6:30 that’s OK, get there as soon as you can. We will still try to run both sessions as a class. There will also be a 10am session Saturday to do the Open as well. There will be NO SUNDAY OPEN workout this week. As usual, please contact me if you have conflicts, some already have and are doing it tomorrow morning at 6am.

Don’t forget– this Saturday is the Crossfit Total! We will be running small heats every 30 minutes starting at 9:30 am and continuing until everyone is finished finding their total. Over the span of 90 minutes, each athlete will complete a max effort Back Squat, Press, and Deadlift. Regular classes will cancelled on Saturday. YOU MUST REGISTER IN WODIFY!!!!! PLEASE!!!! NOW!!!!!

This afternoon I asked Kate, if she would be coming to the Crossfit Total on Saturday. Immediately she responded “Yes,” as if there were no question about it. I then continued to ask why she was coming and why it is important for her to come, which sparked a conversation about the camaraderie that is Crossfit.

Here is her response…

“Globo gyms are just a compilation of random people focused on doing their own different exercises, never looking up from their dual pulley to acknowledge what others around them are doing; what makes Crossfit unique is that we are a community. It is events like the Total or the Open that highlight what we train for, alongside a group of others with the same goals. Though you may not see every person in the box every single day, we are all a team and this weekend is about supporting your teammates.

Have you ever tried to do a workout on your own? It blows. There is no one screaming in your face and pushing you to your limits, and there is no one around to hold you accountable if you don’t break parallel–there is also no one around to give you a high-five when you do something awesome. Let’s face it; it’s difficult to motivate yourself to do something as intense as Crossfit without a group. When you feel like your lungs are going to explode and you’re going to pass out, sometimes all that you need is to hear someone scream, “Keep going!”

Having people by your side working towards the same goal (which, this weekend is to PR the s*** out of our lifts) is the ultimate drive. For me, seeing the excitement as others hit their goal or gain a new PR sparks something inside of me to push for that feeling myself. This is why I am doing the Total this weekend (and why I think you should, too): the camaraderie, knowing that you will be pushed to your limits, and the hope of a post-workout PR party.”

A side note, from a coaching standpoint: Everything we do falls into one of two categories, testing or training. Almost no training environment can simulate a testing environment. This is why you see people best their previous PRs in things like a ladder lift, or do multiple reps of something they could only do once previously. Saturday is a testing situation, and there is no ifs, ands or buts about it, you will find something inside you that may or may not have known was there. I dare you to find the most in you.

Here are some basic precautions from the Crossfit Journal that need to be followed for safety:

“Anyone in a position to attempt a legitimate CrossFit Total should be familiar enough with their capabilities on the lifts to have a fairly good idea of just what might be possible for a one-rep max. If you have questions about this feel free to ask one of the 215 staff.

1) Don’t be stupid.

Don’t total if you’re injured to the extent that a total will aggravate the problem. This will cost you in training time

2) Don’t be greedy.

Learn to recognize the difference between greed and ambition, and be merely ambitious.

3) Don’t be pig-headed.

If your first attempt tells you that you need to lower your second, do so, without a misplaced sense of diminished self-worth. It’s a test, and it’s designed to measure what’s there, not create something that’s not. That’s what training is for.”

So most of you probably saw the announcement of Open Workout 14.2, and some of you probably said “WTF”, I don’t have chest to bar pull-ups. Its OK, there are plenty of people out there saying the same thing. I had a feeling that something like this was coming which is why we switched over to regular programming during class and doing the Open workouts at 7pm on Friday and 1pm on Sundays. So if you have not quite mustered up the strength to get your chest over the bar, go to class tomorrow and then come hang with us at 7pm. We will cheer you on as you try your best. you would be surprised how many people have found a way to get their chest up there when it really matters.

For those of you described above, or those of you not doing the the Open, you should still come by tomorrow night and support the people doing 14.2, especially our performance athletes. They have been working hard and could really use your support. I encourage everyone who can to come in tomorrow night, get this done so you can recover and we can go back at it next week. Waiting until Sunday will certainly have a huge effect on next week’s training. So let’s party tomorrow night over a barbell, a pull up rig and some good old fashion throwing down.

And remember, anything is possible and magic happens in the open. All it takes is one time….

A big thank you to everyone that came out to support Stan and his event this weekend! The Ability WOD was a huge success, raising a bunch of money for Global Abilities. It was an amazing day filled with inspiring people. Another thank you to Stan, who shared his dream with our Crossfit community; we look forward to helping you grow in the future! Here are some pics from the weekend of our Wheel Chair athletes.

Important Changes Regarding the Crossfit Open:

Rather than dedicating all Friday classes to the Open, we have decided to hold Open workouts: Friday @ 7:00pm and Sunday @ 1:00pm. We hope that by condensing the workouts to two time slots we can have as many of you here as possible during these classes to cheer on your fellow 215ers. This means Fridays there will be regular programming during class times. Though we ask that you do your best to adhere to the times above for the open, please contact me if you must complete your Open workout outside of the scheduled times. Please do not just assume that working out during class time is OK. Setting up for an open workout can take up a lot of space and the auxiliary room is not always available.

Don’t forget: the Ability WOD is tomorrow at 10:00am! Spread the word! This is going to be a great day for an awesome cause–we encourage you to join us!

Learn more about the Ability WOD at: http://www.globalabilities.org/crossfit.html

Here is a message from Stan regarding logistics about how the day will run:

“Hey 215 family,

The Ability WOD is almost here, and things are coming together nicely! Thank you all for being so supportive in our first joint venture with the Global Abilities Foundation. Hopefully, not only can we raise money for their cause, but also awareness about the capabilities and drive of athletes and individuals living with disability.

A couple of logistics to go over, as this is a somewhat different CrossFit event than we’ve hosted in the past:

– As both individuals with and without CrossFit experience will be participating in some version of the workout, there is likely going to be a little more transition time in between workouts. So, please be patient. If you are free to help set up necessary modifications in order to help things go more smoothly, it would be greatly appreciated. A modified workout has been workout out for most of our wheelchair athletes. Ask Micah and he can let you know how to set things up.

– With regards to parking, I’m asking that all our 215 members use the parking lot at Sherman Mills, where our box used to be to ensure that there is enough parking nearby the box for our visitors. I did get permission from their leasing office to secure 5-6 spots in the Dobson Mills Lot across the street for our visitors with disability only. These spots will be specifically marked off. For all others, as always, this lot is NOT to be used. I would also like to keep the space in front of the box open for disabled parking, if possible. Not sure what the turnout is going to be, but we have to prepare for the eventuality that others with disability will show up as spectators.

– As of now, Mather has volunteered to MC the event, Micah will be helping out the wheelchair athletes. I believe we have some volunteers from GAF with computers, so that those interested can donate on the day. This is my first time coordinating a gig like this so I’d appreciate the help of anyone willing to volunteer for incidentals that I haven’t thought of. As far as set up beforehand, it will likely be pretty limited as many will be modifying the workout but if there’s anything that needs to be done the night before, if anyone is able to stick around briefly after the State of the Union address to help out, I’d be grateful.

That’s all I’ve got as far as logistics for now. Time to get excited, folks! Special thanks to 215ers Micah for hosting and creating a special wheelchair workout for our visitors, Mather for MC-ing and coming up with our combined logo design, Matt Godrey for agreeing to photograph the event, and Dan Rau for T- shirts and securing food from Deke’s for us on the day! Sorry if I forgot anyone.

Thanks again to everyone participating, those who donated and those who helped spread the word. See you tomorrow!

4 days agoby requisitefitnessThe @crossfitgames open officially begins this week! The Open is a five-week test of fitness for all levels of ability. It’s an opportunity to showcase your hard work and cheer on your friends. This year we’ve created our own scoreboard to crown the fittest men and women at RF! The workouts will be held every Saturday beginning February 23rd (week 1) for five weeks with heats running from 8am - 11am. If you cannot make Saturday’s and still want to participate, Friday, Sunday, or Monday will be available for make ups. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Register at Games.CrossFit.com under affiliate “CrossFit215” and sign

1 week agoby requisitefitnessit’s Friday! We hope you all had a happy Valentine’s Day • We are running a Valentine’s Day special - 14% off all memberships for one month through next week. Treat yourself or your friends and loved ones to the gift of fitness! DM or click the in bio today!

1 week agoby requisitefitnessDoes your gym have a physical therapist with office hours INSIDE the gym? • We are privileged to be able to work closely with some of the best practitioners in the area. If you’re looking for knowledgeable doctors who specialize in working with active populations then contact @trainingroom .gv today! • #Repost@trainingroom .gv ・・・ Now providing Physical Therapy services @ Requisite Fitness in East Falls. Dr. Nick will be in weekly from 1-8 PM providing one-on-one care for all of your musculoskeletal and performance needs. @nickperugini .dpt specializes in working with active populations and is ready to coordinate with you and your

2 weeks agoby requisitefitness“Why do YOU do it? The Open is a competition that gives structure and focused space for marching toward a goal. Anyone is able to pursue aspirations of reaching the highest level or achieving a first muscle-up. It starts with why, which leads to a choice, continues with a plan, gives way to a global competition, and carries on with celebration of the pursuit” @crossfitgames • #intheopen#requisitefitness#crossfit215#crossfit#fitness

2 weeks agoby requisitefitnessTHE OPEN! Coach @whatfredo is here to lay it all out with what you can expect • Who is it for? EVERYONE! RX, Scaled, Masters, Teens, Beginners, Veterans • When does it start? February 21st. We will be completing the workouts on Saturdays from 8-11am for five weeks • What…are you waiting for? Sign up today at www.games.crossfit.com under affiliate “CrossFit215” #requisitefitness#crossfit215#intheopen#crossfit#community

2 weeks agoby requisitefitnessStrong nurses ‍⚕️‍⚕️ • Did you know over 15% of our members are doctors or nurses? These men and women know the value of their own health and fitness. You’ll often see them at RF coming off a shift or about to head in. They make the time work on themselves in order to be more effective in their jobs taking caring of others. National Nurses week isn’t until May but we’d like to give a shout to some of these nurses who crush it week in and week out! #crossfitnurse#requisitefitness#crossfit215#trainwithapurpose#crossfit#health#wellness#fitness

2 weeks agoby requisitefitness#tbt The Open is less than 20 days away! The Open is a five-week test of fitness for all levels of ability. It’s an opportunity to showcase your hard work and cheer on your friends each week. We will be hosting the Open every Saturday beginning February 23rd (week 1) for five weeks running heats from 8am - 11am. If you cannot make Saturday’s and still want to participate, Friday’s or Monday’s will be available for make ups. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Register at Games.CrossFit.com under affiliate “CrossFit215” and sign your name on the whiteboard at the gym • #CrossFit#IntheOpen#requisitefitness#crossfit215

3 weeks agoby requisitefitnessThe Open is a five-week test of fitness. A challenge. Taking part in this contest looks different for everyone. Some will push themselves to go Rx'd, many will scale as needed and all will watch and cheer their friends. The Open is for everyone. We will be hosting the Open every Saturday beginning February 23rd (week 1) for five weeks running heats from 8am - 11am. If you cannot make Saturday’s and still want to participate, Friday’s or Monday’s will be available for make ups. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Register at Games.CrossFit.com! #CrossFit#IntheOpen#requisitefitness#crossfit215@liftingcultureapparel